M a s t e r C l a s s

S a c r e d G e o m e t r y
Simplifying the fretboard with Pat Martino
by JUDE GOLD (Guitar Player Magazine / April, 2004)
If theres one common misconception people have about geniuses, its the notion that
these stellar intellects engage only in the most strenuous of thought; that in order to
even hold a conversation with one of these brainiacs you need an Ivy League PhD, an
IQ of 200 or more and a bulbous cranium that makes you look like a character from Star
Trek. In reality as brilliant inventions such as the wheel, the light bulb, the magnetic
guitar pickup, the TV dinner, and the Pet Rock all so vividly prove the most ingenious
ideas are often the simplest. And if the mark of true genius is the ability to nd simple,
head-slapping, gosh-why-didnt-I-think-of-that solutions to complex problems, then Pat
Martino is truly one of the guitars cleverest minds. In this lesson, the jazz legend
shares with you an inspiring remapping of the fretboard that is radically different from
what is typically taught in private lessons or at music schools.
The guitar is structured like no other instrument, states Martino, and it unveils
itself in a unique way. Like the piano, it has its own fully unique temperament. But the
communal language of music that all musicians share that is, the language of scales,
theory, and intervals that we all use when explaining or communicating music really
has nothing to do with any instrument other than the piano.
But guess what, guitarists: Its now nally time to describe music from our point of
view. And theres probably nobody more qualied to step up to the podium and demon-
strate a guitar-centric vision of the musical universe than Martino, because he has writ-
ten a mesmerizing treatise called The Nature of Guitar that may forever change how
you visualize the way harmony, melody, and improvisation all function on the fretboard.
And yes, Martinos genius ideas are almost childishly simple.
A B A N D O N I N G T H E P I A N O
Heres the piano, says Martino, playing the C major scale in Ex. 1
These seven notes are the white keys. And the pianos black keys are here [Ex. 2].
These ve black keys spell a D# pentatonic minor scale, starting on the 7, C#. Combine
those two groups of notes and you get all 12 notes of the octave in other words, you
get the chromatic scale [Ex.3].
Thats seven plus ve. Its a system of addition a horizontal system based on the fact
that the piano goes from left to right, from lower in pitch to higher in pitch. This is where
scales come from, which are part of the community language you use to function with
other musicians so that you can discuss modes and scale forms, etc. But scales really
have nothing to do with how the guitar works. The guitar does not work horizontally.
M E E T T H E P A R E N T S
The guitar, like the piano, does have horizontal properties, at least in the sense that as
you ascend horizontally from left to right on a given string the notes get higher in pitch.
What makes the guitar inherently different, though, is that it also has a vertical nature,
because it allows you to move up and down which is exactly what you do when mov-
ing from a higher string to a lower string or vice versa. This means that the fretboard is
an x-y axis. Its a matrix, adds Martino. By being both horizontal and vertical, you
have latitude and longitude. Its like a compass north, east, west, and south.
Were about to enter the heart of Martinos unique vision of the fretboard but fear not:
Although Martino plays some of the most ferocious, angular modern jazz lines youll
ever hear from a guitar player, all youll need to grasp the concepts that follow is a basic
knowledge of music theory, because, in Martinos mind there are only two basic shapes
you absolutely must know to unlock the secrets of the fretboard. One of them is the
augmented triad (a major triad with a raised 5) such as C aug 5 in Ex. 4.
x x x 1 3 2
IV
Augmented cluster Ex. 4
This augmented cluster is one of two parental forms on the guitar, explaines Martino.
By parental, Martino means that the augmented triad in this case a C aug 5 spelled
C-E-G# produces multiple chordal offspring. Specically, its a harmonic gateway to
three major chords. Just lower any one of its three tones and you get a major triad. As
shown in Ex. 5, if you drop the lowest note, C , a half step, you get an E major triad.
Or, lower the middle note, E, the same distance, and you have a G# major triad. Or,
nally, knock the highest pitch, G#, back one fret to hear a C triad. Slick!
x x x 1 3 2
IV
E
x x x 1 2
IV
G#
1 3 x x x
III
C
1 4
Augmented cluster's offspring
Ex. 5
Also, be sure to try raising any note in the augmented cluster a half-step, encourages
Martino. Thats how youll get miinor chords. For instance, raise the lowest note in our
C aug 5 chord a semi-tone to C#, and youve got a C# minor triad.
Sharp just the middle note, and youll hear an F minor triad. Or, raise the highest
note, and youve got A minor.
The other parental shape that Martino deems crucial is the diminished 7th chord, which
is represented by the E dim 7 in Ex. 6.
x
V
x 1 3 2 4
E dim 7
Ex. 6
Diminished cluster
The diminished cluster has a different set of siblings, notes Martino, playing the
shapes four offspring chords in Ex. 7.
Ex. 7
x x 1 3 2 4
IV
Gb7
Diminished cluster's offspring
V
x x 1 1 1 4
C7
IV
x x 2 3 1 4
Eb7
x x 1 2 1 1
A7
V

Lower any one of its notes by a half-step and you get the root of a dominant 7 chord.
For example, drop the lowest tone and you get Gb7. Or, drop the second-lowest note
and you get C7. Drop the second-highest note and you get Eb7. And if you lower the
highest note, youll hear A7.
To me, this is the guitar. These two parental shapes the augmented and diminished
clusters are the fastest way to learn the instrument, provided you have a basic com-
mand of chord theory and scale spellings.
S Y M M E T R Y I N M O T I O N
The most beautiful aspect of the two parental forms has to be their perfect symmetry.
The augmented triad, for example, divides the octave equally into three intervals of a
major third. For that reason, if you move the shape up or down the fretboard a major
third (or four frets), as shown in Ex. 8, the chord doesnt change in any way except for
the fact that its tones become rearranged (with one shifted an octave). Were playing
the same shape at the 4th, 8th, and 12th frets, yet the harmony, note names, and n-
gering remain exactly the same.
Symmetrical Inversion
Ex. 8
x x x 1 3 2
IV
C aug 5
x x x 1 3 2
V I I I
C aug 5
x x x 1 3 2
X I I
C aug 5
It gives you automatic inversions of itself with no necessity of memorizing new nger-
ings, observes Martino. If you arrange the 12 notes of the chromatic scale like the
face of a clock, youll see that the augmented cluster forms a perfect triangle
{Ex. 9].
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Eb
Ma 3rd
Ex.9
Due to its perfect symmetry, there are only four different augmented triads, as
shown by the four triangles in Ex. 9. Our C aug 5 triad is in bold, spelled enharmoni-
cally C-E-Ab. Similarly the other parental shape the diminished cluster is perfectly
symmetrical as well. Dividing the octave equally into four minor-thirds, a diminished
chord repeats itself every three frets as shown in Ex. 10. Again, the only thing that
changes in these four identical grips is the arrangement of the notes.
x x 1 3 2 4
E dim 7
x
X I
x 1 3 2 4
E dim 7
x
X I V
x 1 3 2 4
E dim 7
Ex. 10 Symmetrical Inversion
V I I I
x
V
x 1 3 2 4
E dim 7
G Db E Bb G Db E Bb G Db E Bb G Db E Bb
The diminished cluster forms a square, says Martino,
referring to Ex. 11. Unlike the piano, which uses a seven-plus-ve system of addition,
the guitar uses multiplication. With both of our parental forms we cover all 12 notes of
the chromatic scale by multiplying three times four.
Eb
E
F
Gb
G
Ab
A
Bb
B
C
Db
D
Mi 3rd
Ex. 11
M O V I N O N U P
When it comes to inverting chords, the portability of Martinos two parental forms proves
very convenient. Take the augmented cluster, for example. Remember how, in Ex. 5, a
fourth-position C aug 5 triad yielded a different major chord each time we lowered one
of its tones? Well, if you move C aug 5 up to its rst inversion at the 8th fret, it still
produces the same three major triads (though youll nd the trio of triads has swapped
ingerings). For instance, in Ex. 5, we dropped the lowest note of the chord, C, a half-
step and our C aug 5 became an E major triad. But in Ex. 12, the augmented cluster
is at the eighth position, and C , appears on the rst string. Now, lowering the highest
note yields E major, as shown.
x x x 1 3 2
V I I I
C aug 5
3 x x x
E
1 4
V I I
Ex. 12
Ex. 13 shows the same process as it relates to the diminished cluster. Here, by lower-
ing G to Gb , E dim 7 still becomes Gb7 , but because were at the eighth position, the
dominant chord is now achieved by lowering the second-highest note in the diminished
form, not the lowest note (as was the case with the fth-position E dim 7 in Ex. 7).
x x 1 3 2 4
E dim 7
V I I I
x x 2 3 1 4
Gb7
V I I
Ex. 13
T H E B I G B A N G
These clusters are great for generating chord progressions, shares Martino. By low-
ering one note here, raising another there, you have a very efcient way of generating
complex harmonies and with the smoothest of voice leading.
Martino demonstrates the approach in Ex. 14, taking the diminished parental form
(in this case, C# dim 7 ) and expanding it one note at a time. First, he drops C# to C ,
yielding C7 . Next, he raises Bb to B . (That gives you a beutiful form of C maj 7 .)
Adding an open-A pedal tone to the C maj 7 chord creates a chimey Am9 voicing.
Raising G a half-step produces the tendon twisting Am9 (ma7 ), which, when you raise
E to E# , relaxes into the ear-twisting Am9#5 (maj7 ) that closes the progression.
x x 1 3 2 4
C# dim 7
E Bb C# G
x 1 3 2 4 x
E Bb C G
C7
E B C G
C maj 7
x 2 4 1 3 x
A E B C G
x O 2 4 1 3
Am9
A E B C G#
x O 2 4 1 3
Am9 (maj7)
A E# B C G#
x O 2 4 1 3
Am9#5 (maj7)
Ex. 14 Expanding diminished cluster
Its a whole different approach to shifting harmony from the standard method, which in-
volves creating chords from scale tones and applying complex alterations, says Mar-
tino. And again, its so portable. Shift our original C# dim 7 up to its next inversion
which is simply the exact same ngering moved up to the fth fret and you can easily
generate a new inversion of the entire progression [Ex. 15]. Just as we did in the pre-
vious example, were expanding one note at a time, but this time the same notes are on
different strings.
x
V
x 1 3 2 4
C# dim 7
G C# E Bb
x
V
x 1 1 1 4
C7
G C E Bb
x
V
x 1 1 1 4
C maj 7
G C E B
x
V
O1 1 1 4
Am9
G C E B A
V
x O2 1 1 4
G#C E B A
Am9 (maj7)
Ex. 15 Expanding diminished cluster inverted
x O2 1 3 4
G#C E# B A
V
Am9#5 (maj7)
B R A N C H I N G O U T
The next step toward conquering the fretboard using Martinos two parental forms is to
place the clusters on different groups of strings so you can take advantage of the many
timbres and pitch ranges that the guitar offers. Ex. 16 displays seven ways of fretting
the augmented cluster using unique string groups, while Ex. 17 shows ve ways of do-
ing the same with the diminished cluster. In each example the chord remains the same
throughout, but the inversion and timbral character changes with each new grip.
And yes, with any of example16s augmented voicings, if you lower any single
chord tone, youll get a major triad, and similarly, if you atten any note in one of
Ex. 17s diminished forms, youll hear a dominant 7 chord.
x x x 1 3 2
I V
C aug 5
Ex. 16 Augmented clusters in adjacent and non-adjacent string groups
x x x 1 2
V
1
C aug 5
x x x 1 2
V
3
C aug 5
x x x 1 2
V I
3
C aug 5
x x x 1 4
V I
3
C aug 5
V
x x x 1 4 2
C aug 5
V
x x x 1 4 2
C aug 5
x
I I
x 1 3 2 4
E dim 7
Ex. 17 Diminished clusters in adjacent and non-adjacent string groups
x
I I I
x 1 3 2 4
E dim 7
x
I I
x 1 3 2 4
E dim 7
x
I I
x 1 3 2 1
E dim 7
x
I I I
x 1 4 2 1
E dim 7
Martino especially likes the open-voiced sound you get by placing the parental forms on
non-adjacent string sets and the offspring they produce. Ex. 18 shows one of
Ex. 16s shimmering open-voiced C aug 5 chords with its offspring (not counting the
minor chords you get when you raise any one of C aug 5s tones), and Ex. 19 shows
one of Ex. 17s open-voiced E dim 7 clusters with its offspring.
x
V I
x 1 2 4
C aug 5
x x
V I
x 1 2 4
G#
x x
V
x 1 2 4
C
x 4 x
V I
x 1 2
E
x
Ex. 18 Open-voiced augmented cluster and offspring
x
V
x 1 1 2 4
E dim 7
Ex. 19
Diminished cluster
x x 1 1 4 1
Eb7
V I
x x 3 1 4 2
C7
V
x x 2 1 3 1
F#7
V I
x x 3 2 4 1
A7
V
C H R O M A T I C A T T A C K !
Now that youve seen how the two parental shapes act as key centers and yield dozens
of colorful, closely-related chords, its time to start thinking of them as launching pads
for melodic improvisation which is exactly what Martino does. That means putting
aside notions of scale patterns and really learning to visualize the fretboard as a net-
work of shapes connected by neighbor tones and passing tones.
Chromatic intermediates intertwine across the entire fretboard, says Martino,
demonstrating this fact with one of his trademark chromatic runs in Ex. 20.
Ex. 20
While there are a ton of chromatic notes in this long descending line, the blazing riff
somehow makes the entire neck seem to scream C7. You can use chromatic notes
to weave the whole fretboard into one given topic.
E N C O R E
Its one of the most inspirational stories in jazz: Pat Martino learning to become a mas-
ter guiitarist twice. The rst time around, I was a dead-serious youngster who was
tuned in to the competitive nature of our culture and was fully motivated to achieve suc-
cess, says Martino, who in 1980, at the peak of his form, suffered a catastrophic brain
aneurysm that caused him to forget all he knew about playing guitar. My second rela-
tionship with the instrument began in a much more intimate, innocent kind of way. The
guitar became a playful resting place during a period of intense therapeutic recovery. It
allowed me to take my attention away from my ordeal. I was able to enjoy the guitar in
a pure and almost childish way like a child does with a toy. I think were ultimately
chosen to be childish. Thats exactly how we come into this world and exactly how we
leave it. The guitar just happens to be my favorite toy.
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